Kit Malthouse: I am very conscious, not least as the former London Assembly member for the area, that it is less than two weeks since we marked the third anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire, which saw the worst loss of life in a residential fire since the second world war. I am sure that all those who died, the bereaved and the survivors will be in our minds as we do our work this afternoon and into the future.
On the day of the publication of the Grenfell Tower inquiry phase 1 report, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister accepted in principle all 12 recommendations addressed to the Government directly. Eleven of the recommendations will require implementation in law. The Fire Safety Bill, which will amend the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, is an important first step toward enacting those recommendations. As has been mentioned, the Bill is short and technical; it clarifies the scope of the order. We appreciate that this is the first Bill on fire safety since the Grenfell Tower tragedy, and we intend to legislate further.
It is vital that regulatory standards and public confidence be increased across the whole system of building and fire safety. Next month we will publish a consultation on the implementation of the phase 1 recommendations that call for changes in the law, alongside proposals to strengthen other aspects of the fire safety order. I assure the Committee that the Bill is the start, not the finish, of a process through which we intend to improve the fire safety order.
Alongside the consultation, there is the building safety Bill, which will be presented in the House for pre-legislative scrutiny before the summer recess. That Bill will put in place new and enhanced regulatory regimes for building safety and construction products, and will ensure that residents have a stronger voice in the system. It will take forward the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt’s independent review of building regulations and fire safety.
Our programme of work is not limited to legislation, of course. It includes establishing a remediation programme, supported by £1.6 billion of Government funding, through which we will remove unsafe cladding from high-rise residential buildings. We are undertaking, in conjunction with the fire service, a building risk review programme for all high-rise residential buildings in England by December 2021, supported by £10 million of new funding.
This Fire Safety Bill is also a move towards enhancing safety in all multi-occupied residential buildings by improving the identification, assessment and mitigation of fire risks in those buildings. It will resolve the differing interpretations of the scope of the fire safety order in such buildings and provide clarity for responsible persons and enforcing authorities under the order. It will make it clear that the order applies to the structure, external walls—including cladding—balconies and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings.
As we heard this morning, for many, the Bill will result in operational changes that will present challenges. On Second Reading, we heard differing views from Members on how to commence the Bill, and there are also diverse stakeholder views. The Government are clear that we need to work with the industry and others to take account of the scale of the changes, and the capacity and expertise needed in the system given the volume of fire risk assessments that will need to be updated. That will have to be balanced against the need to take swift action to identify and address serious fire risks in multi-occupied residential buildings. As I said this morning, the Government have established a task and finish group to advise us on commencement.
The Government will fund the British Standards Institution to produce guidance for the assessment of external wall systems. That guidance will encourage competent and suitably qualified individuals to assess the fire risk of external wall systems and help support the implementation of the Bill.
I turn to the amendments. Amendment 1 would ensure that the fire safety order applied to penetrations from a dwelling—interpreted as domestic premises—through a fire-rated wall or floor into a common space. Our position is that the order applies to the whole building except what is excluded by article 6 of the order. That includes domestic premises. By seeking specifically to cover penetrations passing from domestic premises into non-domestic areas or common parts, the amendment could be interpreted as extending the order into domestic premises, which in turn could create a significant extension of the scope of the fire safety order—namely, into people’s private homes. The order has always excluded domestic premises except in very limited circumstances that are not relevant to the amendment, and we stand by the order’s original intention and effect.
I understand and sympathise with the concerns of the hon. Member for Hammersmith, whom I have known for many years. As he rightly said, effective compartmentation prevents a fire and its smoke from spreading from a flat and, importantly, protects the normal escape routes, allowing residents to evacuate to safety. Of course, walls and floors outside the domestic premises are covered by the order. As I have said, our position is that everything not specifically excluded is within scope. Any penetration into the common parts can be observed, assessed and taken into account as part of the responsible person’s fire risk assessment, and where necessary, general fire precautions can be put in place that protect the common parts, and particularly the route of escape.
I remind the Committee that if a local authority considers there to be a serious hazard in a residential building, including in an individual dwelling, it must take enforcement action under the Housing Act 2004. Such hazards are assessed using the housing health and safety rating system, the HHSRS. Structural collapse, failing elements and fire safety hazards are assessed using that tool. Under the proposed building safety regime, the safety case will cover the totality of the building safety information, including all supporting evidence identifying how fire and structural risks are being managed for all buildings within its scope.
I assure the Committee that the Government intend to issue guidance to support those who will be operating under the Bill’s provisions. The guidance will be drawn up with the assistance of practitioners, and will provide a level of specification to operationalise the changes to the order and ensure that they are interpreted and applied consistently.
Amendment 2 seeks to clarify that the order applies to
“all parts of a building that contains two or more dwellings, other than those dwellings themselves”.
As I have said, the order specifically excludes domestic premises. The Bill does not change the definition of domestic premises, and we seek to state expressly that external walls and flat entrance doors, which it could be argued are parts of domestic premises and are therefore excluded, are indeed in scope. The Government have not included a proposition to the effect that the fire safety order applies to all other parts of the building, as we believe that to be unnecessary, and it could cast doubt on article 6(2). The Government therefore resist the amendment. I hope that I have given enough reassurance for both amendments to not be pressed.